UHV named one of fastest growing universities in nation

A national higher education publication recently listed the University of Houston-Victoria as the 12th-fastest growing U.S. public master’s university from 2006 to 2016.

This is the third time the university has made the same list in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s annual almanac, including in the 2012-2013 and 2015-2016 almanacs.

Bob Glenn

The university grew from an enrollment of 2,653 students in the fall of 2006 to 4,384 in the fall of 2016, an increase of 65.3 percent. The average overall enrollment increase for the 262 institutions in the same category was 8.8 percent, according to the 2018-2019 almanac.

“I am pleased UHV received this recognition, especially in terms of the outstanding growth the university has achieved,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “This trend speaks to the hard work of UHV’s faculty and staff. I hope to see the university maintain this positive trend for the next 10 years and beyond.”

To compile the top-20 list of fastest-growing schools, The Chronicle of Higher Education used U.S. Department of Education data based on total head count of full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students. Also on the list were four other Texas universities, two from the University of Texas System, one from the Texas A&M University System and Angelo State University.

David Cockrum

One source of UHV’s growth is the university’s addition of freshmen and sophomores in 2010, said David Cockrum, UHV interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. In addition, the university has added new programs, such as the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, the Bachelor of Science in kinesiology and new undergraduate and graduate business concentrations such as human resource management. The university also offers many programs in the Houston area at UHV Katy.

The university is building new facilities to accommodate the growth and the goal of having 6,000 students on the Victoria campus. In addition to University North, which opened in 2015, several other buildings are under construction including the University Commons student center and learning commons and the Don & Mona Smith Residence Hall. A groundbreaking for a new science, technology, engineering and mathematics building will take place in November.

“It is gratifying to see this steady increase in UHV’s enrollment over a decade,” said Cockrum. “As the university moves forward, we will take steps to continue that upward trend. There are a lot of exciting plans in UHV’s future, and we look forward to seeing them come to fruition.”